Israel Adesanya’s meteoric rise to UFC stardom rivals that of the former Irish champion.
The Nigerian-born New Zealand fighter joined the UFC roster in 2018 and has already tallied eight consecutive victories against the toughest opponents.
In 2019, ‘The Last Style Bender’ earned his first title shot against the then reigning champion, Robert Whittaker.
But before the Whittaker fight, ‘Izzy’, had to overcome six other fighters in the UFC.
In his first UFC fight, against Rob Wilkinson, on 11 February 2018, at UFC 221. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night bonus.
Adesanya’s next fight was on 14 April 2018, against Marvin Vettori at UFC on Fox 29. He won the fight via split decision.
Israel’s subsequent huddle was against Brad Tavares on 6 July 2018, at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale. And he won the one-sided fight via a unanimous decision. This win earned him his second Performance of the Night award.
The next in line for demolition was Derek Brunson on 3 November 2018, at UFC 230. The fight was preceded by some serious trash talking between Derek and Adesanya, with Derek taunting him with, “you are skinny bro”, “you gat no knockout power” and several other taunting remarks. Israel too dished out his own fair share of unmitigated trash talk. But on fight night, The Last Style Bender cleared Derek’s doubts. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award for the third time.
Adesanya faced Anderson Silva on 10 February 2019, at UFC 234. Adesanya had a lot of respect for Silva, and the fight lived up to its billing with lots of entertaining moments. It was as though Anderson Silva was facing a younger version of himself, with the showboating and the counterstrikes that he had become renowned for. Israel won the fight via a unanimous decision.
After the fight, Adesanya went over to Silva and bowed while kneeling, as a show of respect to a man many consider to be one of the all-time greats in MMA history. Silva too reciprocated in the same manner. This fight earned Adesanya the Fight of the Night award.
Adesanya stealthily moved up the rankings and faced Kelvin Gastelum for the interim UFC Middleweight Championship on 13 April 2019, at UFC 236. He won the fight via unanimous decision. This also fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. The fight was widely regarded as the best fight of the year, earning the nomination from most of the MMA news outlets.
On 6 October 2019 at UFC 243, Israel Adesanya faced Robert Whittaker in a title unification bout. During his fight entrance, Adesanya set a new precedent by executing a faultless dance routine worthy of a global dance competition award. He carried that momentum into the Octagon. The undefeated fighter delivered an onslaught and knocked out Whittaker in the second round to claim the 185-pound crown. This win earned him his fourth Performance of the Night award, after only 7 fights in the UFC!
For his first title defense, he faced Yoel Romero on 7 March 2020 at UFC 248. He won the fight via unanimous decision as he defended the UFC middleweight championship title.
In his 19 professional MMA fights, 8 of which have been in the UFC, Israel has remained undefeated!
Just like McGregor, Adesanya’s creative striking and charisma have already made him an MMA star. He also isn’t afraid to call out fighters and insult them with verbal missiles. For several months, ‘Stylebender’ has been embroiled in an ongoing feud with pound-for-pound king Jon Jones. He slammed the UFC star for his recent arrest and accused him of dodging fights. He has also not spared Paulo Costa and Conor McGregor, as well.
With Adesanya’s winning streak, unmatched dancing swag, and trash-talking antics, the UFC superstar is considered by many, as the next face of UFC.
